Pressure-controlling device for the air-springs of printing-presses.



- PATENTBD DEG. 5, 1905.

v y G; P. GOTTRELL. PRESSURE CONTROLLING DEVIGE FOR THE AIR SPRINGS OI"PRINTING PRESSES.

APPLICATION FILED NAILS, 1905.

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No. 80mm. PATENTEDDEG. 5.1905.

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DEVICE FOR THE AIR SPRINGS 0P PRINTING PRESSES.

APPLIUATIQN FILED MAR. 3. 1906.

PRESSURE GONTROLLING 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I UNITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES P. OOTTRELL, OF WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO C. B.OOTTRELL 8c SONS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORA- TION OF NEWJERSEY.

PRESSURE-CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR THE AIR-SPRINGS F PRlNTlNG-PRESSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

Application filed March 3, 1905. Serial No. 248,275.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. OOTTRELL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Westerly, in the county-of Washington and State ofRhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement inPressure-Controlling Devices for the Air-Springs of Printing Presses,of-which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to so control the action of theair-springs of a reciprocating-bed printing-press that the requisitecompression and resistance of the springs for counteracting or reducingthe momentum of the bed during a portion of the travel of the latter andup to a predetermined point in said travel in either direction areobtained and maintained, but that beyond said point thereshall be noseriously-increased compression of the air and consequentunnecessarily-increased resistance to the beds travel or, as may bedetermined upon, there shall be beyond that point a gradually-diminishedresistance; yet,

if desirable, there may be leftin the springs at the still-point ortermination of the movement .of the bed in either direction suflicientcompression of the air to assist instarting the bed on its return; andthe invention consists in means hereinafter described and claimed,consisting in provision for moving the cylinder and piston of theair-springs in opposite ing; 12, the reciprocating bed, and 13 the waysupon whichthe bed runs. The bed is represented as driven by themangle-shaft1415, gear 16, and rack 17, commonly used for driving thereciprocating beds of printing-presses,

the said rack being furnished, as usual, at

-- each end with a stud l8 and a semicircular shoe 19, in the latter ofwhich run the rollers on the crank-pins 21 of the mangle-gear 16 fordirecting said gear from the upper tothe lower side of the rack, andvice versa.

Fixedly attached to the bed 12 are the airspring cylinders 22, providedat their inner ends with the inwardly opening vacuumvalves 23 and eachfitted with a piston 24, the rod 25 of which instead of being, as isusual,

fixedly attached to the framing is fitted to slide lengthwise in a guide26 in one of the cross-tiesof the framing, so that the piston may have amovement in the cylinder independently of the movement of the cylinderitself with the bed. Only one of these pistons is shown, that beingsuflicient for the illustration of the invention.

The piston-rod 25 of each piston 24 is provided at its outer end with agrooved collar 25*, which receives the roller 27, provided on I theforked upper end of the arm 28 of a rockshaft 29, which is fitted tofixed bearings 30 in brackets 31, carried by the framing. The saidrock-shaft 29 has also another arm 32, between which and an abutment onthe framing there is applied a pushingspring 41, which tends to holdback the piston 24 as far as permitted by a stop-collar 42, provided onthe piston-rod inside of the guide 26 on the framing. The said arm 32 ofthe rock-shaft carries a roller 33, which is situated under a lever 34,which is pivoted by a'pin 35 to the rack hanger 36, so that it movesback and forth with the bed. The lower edge of the lever 34, which runsover the roller 33, is. formed as a cam 34* 34** 34***. The rackhangerhas also pivoted to it by a pin 37 a locking device (represented asconsisting of a gab-hook 38) for engagement with a pin 39, projectingfrom one side of the cam-lever 34, and there is a spring 38*, attachedto the rack-hanger, to constantly press the gab-hook toward said pin 39.There is a stationary stop (represented as consisting of a pin 43)carried by a bracket 44 on the framing for the disengagement of thegab-hook from the pin 39 on the cam-lever, and so unlocking said' lever.

The operations of the cylinders and pistons will now be explained withreference to Figs. 1, 2, 3. First suppose the bed to be moving to theright and the cylinder moving with it to to be about to take in thepiston, which is at the time stationary, as shown in Fig. 3, being heldby the spring 41 with the collar 42 of its rod abutting against thestationaryiguide26.

The cam-lever 34, moving with the bed and cylinder, is held down by theengagement of the gab-hook 38 with its pin 39. The continued movement ofthe bed and cylinder causes the cylinder to take in the piston, and asthe piston enters the cam-lever begins to pass over the roller 33, whenthe cam-incline 34 acting as a wedge on the roller 33, causes the pistonto advance into the cylinder at a greater speed than that of the bed,thus rapidly increasing the compression of the air in the cylinder andthe resistance of the spring until the point 34* of the cam-leverarrives, as shown in Fig. 1, at the roller 33, after which the part 34**of the cam-lever passing over the roller 33 gradually permits the pistonto be drawn back by the spring 41, and therefore during the continuedmovement of the bed and cylinder there is no or very little furtherincrease of compression of the air in the cylinder, and in factaccording to the form of the part 34 of the cam-lever and the speed atwhich the piston is thereby permitted to retire there may be a continueddimunition of said pressure until the cam-lever is released from thegab-hook by the upwardly-projecting part of the latter striking thestationary pin 43, when the cam no longer depresses the roller 33, butrises with the latter and permits the piston to move back to itsstationary position shown in Fig. 4, in which the stationary guide 26serves as a stop to the collar 42 on the rod. This movementis effectedby the pressure of air in the cylinder assisted-by the action of thespring 41. After this movement of the bed has been reversed the pistoncontinues to be held stationary and the camlever passes inoperativelyover the roller 33 until it has dropped to the position shown in Fig. 3.The gab-hook, since its release from the pin 39, as before described,has been held by its spring 38* with its gab below the pin 39; but onthe descent of the cam-lever to the position just described the pin 39comes opposite the gab, which is then thrown into engagement with thesaid pin by the spring 38*, as shown in Fig. 3, and there locked duringthe movement of the bed to the left and until during its return to theright the cylinder arrives nearly at the position shown in Fig. 4 whenthe operation of the piston as described again takes place. A similaroperation, it will be understood, will take place between the cylinderand piston at the other end of the press. By these operations the bed ismade to assist in checking its own momentum.

By giving the cam 34* 34*** a proper form, the movement of the pistonwithin the cylinder independently of the movement of the latter itselfmay be so controlled that its advance within the cylinder to increasethe compression of the air and its retirement therefrom may be made tocommence at such points in the travel of the press-bed as may be desiredand that the retirement may take place at such speed relatively to thatof the bed and cylinder that the compression may either continue uniformor be gradually reduced during the remainder of the travel of the bed orbe first reduced and afterward increased near the termination of thetravel; but I prefer that the retiring movement shall commence at orabout at that point in the travel at which the retardation commences, asillustrated by Fig. 1, in which the manglerack and pinion arerepresented in the positions they occupy at that point.

To provide for furtherdetermining the degree of compression of the airwhich may be obtained in the cylinder before the retirement of thepistons takes place, the pistons are made adjustable lengthwise upontheir rods by being screwed thereon, as indicated at 44.

. What I claim as my invention is 1. In a reciprocating-bedprinting-press, the combination with the air-spring cylinder and piston,of mechanism deriving motion from the press for moving said cylinder andpiston in opposite directions at the same time while the piston is inthe cylinder.

2. Inareciprocating-bed printing-press, the combination with theair-spring cylinder carried by the bed, and the air-spring piston havinga stationary support, of mechanism deriving motion from the press formoving said piston within the cylinder lengthwise thereof during themovement of the latter.

3. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press,the combination with the bedand an air-spring cylinder thereto attached, of a movable airspringpiston and mechanism deriving motion from the press for moving saidpiston within the cylinder independently of the movement of the bed andcylinder.

4. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press,the combination with the bedand an air-spring cylinder thereto attached, of an air-spring piston,and mechanism deriving motion from the press for effecting the movementof the piston within the cylinder in the opposite direction to themovement of the bed.

5. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press,the combination with the bedand an air-spring cylinder thereto attached, of an air-spring piston,and mechanism deriving motion from the press for eifecting the movementof the piston within the cylinder in the same direction as the movementof the bed.

6. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press,the combination with the bedand an air-spring cylinder thereto attached, of an air-spring pistonmovable independently of the cylinder and mechanism deriving motion fromthe press for giving the said piston a movement in the cylinder inopposite directions during the movement of the cylinder in onedirection.

7. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press,the

der and afterward permitting and controlling the movement of the pistonin the same diton, and mechanism deriving motion from the press forfirst producing the movement of the piston in the opposite direction tothe cylinrection as the cylinder.

8. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press,the combination with the bedand an air-spring cylinder thereto attached, of an air-spring pistonmovable independently of the cylinder, a stationary support and guidefor said piston, a stop to limit the movement of said piston in the samedirection withthe bed and means for moving said piston in the oppositedirection to that of the bed.

9. The combination with a printing-press bed and mechanism for givingsaid bed a reciprocating movement retarded at a certain stage of itsprogress, of an air-spring cylinder carried by said bed, an air-springpiston movable within the cylinder independently of the movement of thecylinder itself, means for producing the movement of the piston withinthe cylinder in the opposite direction to the ducing and controlling themovement of the movement of the cylinder itself and means timed to themovement of the bed for propiston in the same direction with the bedfrom about the point atwhich the retardation of the movement of the bedcommences.

10. In a reciprocating-bed printing-press. the combination with the bedand an airspring cylinder thereto attached, of mechanism actuated by thebed itself for first producing the movement of the piston within thecylinder in the opposite direction to the movement of the bed andafterward permitting, producing and controlling the movement of thepiston within the cylinder in the same direction as that of thebed,

11. The combination with a reciprocating printing-press bed, anair-spring cylinder carried by said bed and an air-spring piston movablewithin said cylinder independently of the movement of the cylinderitself, a fixed stop for arresting the movementof said piston away fromthe cylinder, a cam-lever pivoted to the bed, a rock-shaft havingstationary bearings and having one arm in engagement with said pistonand another for engagement with said cam-lever for producing andcontrolling the movement-of the piston, a locking device for lockingsaid lever in its operative position and a fixed stop for disengagingsaid locking device and liberating said lever to its inoperativeposition.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myv invention 1 have signedmy name, in presence of two witnesses, this 28thday of'February, 1905.

CHARLES P. COTTRELL.

Witnesses:

F. GEORGE BARRY, EREDK. HAYNES.

